The vote will only be symbolic and really has no force behind it. It's happening due to frustration, discontent, and poor moral among the rank and file. But at least Israel will know he lacks support by his deputies.

qmti wrote:The vote will only be symbolic and really has no force behind it. It's happening due to frustration, discontent, and poor moral among the rank and file. But at least Israel will know he lacks support by his deputies.

qmti wrote:The vote will only be symbolic and really has no force behind it. It's happening due to frustration, discontent, and poor moral among the rank and file. But at least Israel will know he lacks support by his deputies.

The reason I am familiar with this is that I once worked at a company where we had problems with the manager and it was affecting the moral among the employees. Corporate sent in a agency to conduct a "Barnacle Removing Session" with the manager and the employees. It went well for a couple of month then the manager went back to his old ways. It only became better when corporate removed him.

The Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association voted no confidence in Israel by a count of 534 to 94, the Sun-Sentinel reports. The deputies held the vote in response to Israel’s handling of the Parkland school shooting, even though union president Jeff Bell said members face possible retaliation from Israel.

"Members have displayed great courage to come out and vote under threat of retaliation and reprisal from the sheriff," Bell said.

Bell added that he wants to present the union’s claim to Gov. Rick Scott (R.) to ask him to "please make change and replace the sheriff with somebody who is capable of amazing leadership."

Israel accused the deputies of ulterior motives.

"I will not be distracted from my duties by this inconsequential IUPA [International Union of Police Associations] union vote, which was designed to extort a 6.5 percent pay raise from this agency," Israel said in a statement. "Those who purportedly voted in this straw ballot reflect only a small number of the 5,400 BSO employees. The unions representing the vast majority of our employees solidly support the leadership of this agency."

Good. Smoke out the bad apples, no matter their rank

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Deputy Marshall Peterson, a 28-year veteran of the Broward Sheriff's Office, Department of Detention. Deputy Peterson, 53, died at his residence. Thank you for your service, Deputy.

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

Two sources with knowledge of Cruz’s discipline records told WLRN he was referred to the so-called PROMISE Program for a three-day stint after committing vandalism at Westglades Middle School in 2013.

SNIP

The Broward Sheriff's Office has also said Cruz didn't attend PROMISE.

“The school board reports that there was no PROMISE program participation,” BSO representative Jack Dale said during a recent meeting of a new state commission tasked with investigating the shooting.

The PROMISE program allows students who commit certain misdemeanors — there's an official list of 13 — at school to avoid getting involved with the criminal justice system. Instead, they attend the alternative school, where they receive counseling and other support.

SNIP

In his defense of the program, Runcie has touted its high success rate in preventing recidivism: Nearly 9 out of 10 kids who go to PROMISE don’t commit another offense at school that would send them back there.

He has maintained there’s no link between PROMISE and the shooting, calling it “reprehensible” that people have tried to use the tragedy to target the program.

“Let me reiterate this point,” Runcie started off during an interview in his office last month. “Nikolas Cruz, the shooter that was involved in this horrific accident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, had no connection to the PROMISE program.”

SNIP

Runcie and school board members have vowed to protect PROMISE.

“There is no intent to get rid of the PROMISE program,” board member Rosalind Osgood said at a meeting last month.

Board chair Nora Rupert agreed, echoing her: “Nope.”

Vigorous protection a program, but not the kids...

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

It may be a great program, but it sounds like the dunderheads running it have made it optional, at least in Cruz' case. Maybe he wouldn't have shot the school up had they made him attend. (I doubt that, but it just further shows the lack of commitment or follow-through by school staff and law enforcement which largely contributed to this incident).

-- Mike

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." - Ayn Rand

The hits keep coming at the Broward Sheriff office after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The Miami Herald has reported that paramedics begged the office to enter the school to save the wounded, but the captain at the scene said no:

Michael McNally, deputy chief for Coral Springs fire-rescue, asked six times for permission to send in specialized teams of police officers and paramedics, according to an incident report he filed after the Feb. 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that left 17 people dead.

But every time McNally asked to deploy the two Rescue Task Force [RTF] teams — each made up of three paramedics and three to four law enforcement officers — the Broward Sheriff’s Office captain in charge of the scene, Jan Jordan, said no.

“The [BSO] incident commander advised me, ‘She would have to check,’ ” McNally wrote in the report released Thursday by Coral Springs. “After several minutes, I requested once again the need to deploy RTF elements into the scene to … initiate treatment as soon as possible. Once again, the incident commander expressed that she ‘would have to check before approving this request.’ “

Thing is, even after the officers arrested the gunman, the sheriff’s office kept telling the paramedics they couldn’t enter the building.

The Miami Herald pointed out that gunshot victims can bleed out fast, which means they need prompt medical attention. These special RTF teams have permission “to treat victims under the protection of police officers in situations where a shooter has been pinned down or fled but has not necessarily been captured.” SWAT medics went into the school instead of the RTF teams.

Sure, that doesn't look suspicious.Hang em high.

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

We’ve been covering the Parkland shooting here at LI, and it doesn’t look good for either the school itself or the Broward Country Sheriff’s office.

Adding to the controversy, a retired Secret Service agent has come forward to report that he told Stoneman Douglas High School administrators that the school was vulnerable to a school shooting.

This was two months prior to the Parkland shooting, and the school admin did next to nothing.

SNIP

This news comes just days after the revelation that two Parkland security monitors have been banned from the campus. One warned of Cruz’s presence on campus and then drove away when the shooting started and another hid in a janitor’s closet.

The hits just keep on comin'.How much worse can this story be for the officials?How quickly can they settle?What jury wouldn't award the moon to these victim families?

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

This news comes just days after the revelation that two Parkland security monitors have been banned from the campus. One warned of Cruz’s presence on campus and then drove away when the shooting started and another hid in a janitor’s closet.

I suppose without a firearm all the two could've done is do what the one unarmed coach did, use his body as a human shield. I think it is unreasonable to ask unarmed security monitors to respond to a mass shooter without some kind of realistic ability to fight back.

Many have called him a coward, but former sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson had no legal duty to stop the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, his attorneys say.

SNIP

Peterson’s lawyers say police officers are responsible for injury only if the officer takes control of a situation and people are hurt as a result or if the officer creates risk.

A Florida statute gives immunity to officers for injury suffered as a result of what they do while on the job unless they acted in bad faith or exhibited “wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property, ” the attorneys say.

They contend that Peterson, since he didn’t act at all, can’t be legally blamed.

“A free people claim their rights, as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”-Thomas Jefferson, 1774

Tweed Ring: "...we should have all done more to elected Republicans..." Agreed

Wait a minute. In his TV interview Peterson claimed he wasn't a coward, that he thought the shooter was shooting toward the outside, and he was just following procedure for that. His lawyers however are saying,

He ‘opted for self-preservation,’ his attorneys say in rebuttal against parent’s lawsuit

While it might not be something which he can be sued for, (he was specifically assigned to the school) it sure seems like it would sound like cowardice to most people, when your number one job as a SRO (today) is to stop a mass shooter. The reason I say "today" is I was a school security officer probably thirty years ago approx. My primary reason for being there was to control high schoolers skipping out of school without a pass, and to guard the parking lot. School shootings weren't even a consideration. If however one had happened, I would've confronted an active shooter and I don't even claim to consider them "my kids" as Peterson stated. Would I have been successful without getting hurt? Maybe, maybe not, but so what?

Although it's probably fake news, I heard a rumor that Peterson has found a new job, in construction.